Freelancer, Medic, Mage
by Quatermass
Summary: Adopted by Director Church after he ends up in another universe, Harry later becomes Agent Virginia...and becomes his step-sister's lover. After being declared fugitives after being kidnapped by the Goblet of Fire, Harry and Carolina return to their time to find their former comrades being targeted by an ally turned-relentless monster. Can Harry and Carolina stop the Meta?
1. Foreword

**FOREWORD**

This isn't my first _Red vs Blue_ crossover. That honour goes to an _Overlord_ crossover, _Xenagogy for Belligerent AIs and Dungeon Denizens_. But I wanted to do a Harry Potter crossover one day, if only because there's a distinct lack of them. I wanted to wait at least until I had finished watching the Project Freelancer seasons first, to get a better feel for some of the characters. Now, here we are.

This is also partially based on my 'Church's Child' challenge. It also takes cues from two of my previous works. Namely, my _RWBY_ crossover _Under the Light of the Shattered Moon_ (where Harry gets pulled back for the Tri-Wizard Tournament in the backstory of the fic), and my _Evangelion_ crossover _Harry Potter and the Blue-Haired Angel_ and _Undertale_ crossover _Underground's Champion_ (where flashbacks take up the first half of the chapter).

Anyway, time for the usual disclaimers. Firstly, there will be spoilers for both Harry Potter and _Red vs Blue_.

Secondly, there will be heavy annotations, as is usual for my works. You have been warned.

Thirdly, this is an M-Rated work. There will be coarse language, violence, dark themes and sexual references. Again, you have been warned.

Finally, the following is a fan-written work. Harry Potter and _Red vs Blue_ are the properties of their respective owners. Please support the official release. Otherwise, Carolina and Tex will beat your sorry arse in tandem…


	2. Chapter 1: Carolina and Virginia

**CHAPTER 1:**

 **CAROLINA AND VIRGINIA**

 _The tension in the bedroom was palpable. The red-haired young woman in the cyan armour, now stripping it down to a figure-hugging undersuit, had a stormy expression on her face, her green eyes simmering with fury. She tried, unsuccessfully, to calm herself down. Here she was, in an unfamiliar situation, far from home, abducted by idiots, and forced to stay here. She wanted to punch or shoot someone so bad, it wasn't funny._

 _Soon, though, the anger sublimated into sorrow, and her eyes glistened. So caught up in her thoughts was she, that she barely heard her comrade and lover step out of the bathroom. "The shower's free, Carrie."_

 _She barely responded, so he sat down next to her, only a towel around his waist. There had been times when she shrugged off the arm around her shoulder from him, with varying degrees of aggression. But she didn't refuse the gesture now. She leaned into him, in fact. "Virg…how the hell are we going to get back home?" she asked quietly._

 _"I dunno, Carrie. And we're stuck here. Well, I'm stuck here, according to those idiots," he said. "If there was a means to send you back, I'd do it in a shot."_

 _"I'm not leaving you behind, Virg. I know, I know, lately, I've been…angry, thanks to_ _ **her**_ _. But…after what you took from Price's head…Jesus, what the fuck is our father doing?!"_

 _"He's not our father, Carrie. He adopted me, remember? And he's little more than a sperm donor for you. Should've confronted him before we were abducted. I'm more worried about the Alpha, and the others. Wash, Maine, York, the twins…hell, even Connie and Tex are victims."_

 _"Yeah. Still slugging Tex in the face if we ever see her again," the woman said. "And that's a big if. Seriously, what the hell are we doing back in the late 20_ _th_ _Century?! And what's with these idiots in robes? I mean, I knew you had abilities, but we just thought you were some esper or something. Wizards…" She spat out the last word like it was a curse. "And that old fool with the beard…I want to shoot him."_

 _"Get in line. After he confessed he left me with those…people…I'm glad I barely remember them. But I remember the cupboard. I'll never forget that."_

 _After a moment, the redhaired woman stood, beginning to strip off her undersuit. "I'm going to need a long shower. I want you with me tonight. Please, stay with me."_

 _"As always, Carolina…as always…"_

* * *

Aiden Price was not exactly a man troubled by qualms or conscience. He was a calm, collected, stoic man. But he was also a cautious one, and this was part of the discontent he had with his boss, Director Leonard Church of Project Freelancer. Most of Project Freelancer had imploded, with two of its best agents going AWOL shortly after the execution of CT (formerly known as Agent Connecticut), and then some attempting to break out the Alpha AI, led by Agent Tex. Price placed the blame on Church's reckless desire to recreate his dead wife, as well as trying to create an elite group of soldiers he could use as his own private army.

Admittedly, Charon Industries needed to be stopped. Unbeknownst to the public and most of the UNSC, it was being run by Malcolm Hargrove, a man with enough influence to prevent any accusations from being applied to him. But the Director had made Hargrove into his personal nemesis, and used Project Freelancer recklessly to try and undermine Hargrove. He would even go so far as to use his own children, Agent Carolina and Agent Virginia. Virginia was an adopted child, found by the Church family a couple of years before Allison Church died fighting the Covenant. Indeed, Price had been tasked to confront the two over them being lovers, despite the fact that they weren't genetically related.

After Project Freelancer mostly imploded, Price stayed on as counsellor, particularly for the Recovery section. Agent Washington was being sent back into the field, mostly to try and find the deranged Meta, formerly Agent Maine. Price's loyalty to the Director was on the wane, admittedly for more pragmatic reasons than anything else: Hargrove was itching for an excuse to arrest everyone associated with Project Freelancer, or at least those high up in the organisation, even if the AWOL agents were being made scapegoats.

And now, Hargrove was beginning to breathe down the Director's neck. The catalyst had been the attack on the sim-trooper outpost at Valhalla, an attack that started with a crash of a spaceship, one they believed to be Agent Texas' ship, the one marked as destroyed after those incidents at the Blood Gulch outpost. Given the initial, albeit fragmented reports, Price suspected Omega was to blame for part of the damage, and the Meta swooped in like a vulture afterwards. After thwarting the former Agent Maine from retrieving any AIs since Agent Texas' attempt to retrieve the Alpha, they had managed to keep the Meta from obtaining any more…until now.

The three surviving members of Recovery's Freelancers were watching as the sole survivor of the outpost gave his report. He could tell South Dakota was barely restraining herself from interjecting. Her loyalties were the most in question, but the disappearance of Virginia and Carolina seemed to get her to stay loyal. She had Delta, though their partnership was shaky, to say the least.

Her twin brother, North Dakota, was more of a stabilising influence on her, thank whatever deity existed. He was certainly the most loyal of the Recovery Freelancers, though given his assistance of Texas during her attempt to free the Alpha, there was still a question mark next to said loyalties.

And then, finally, Washington. He of the failed Epsilon transplant. Professional, but cagey about anything to do with his experiences with Epsilon, and refusing another AI. Not that they could have, but Washington needed to be watched.

Price frowned when Henderson said something, something that gained not only his attention, but also that of the three Freelancers. "I beg your pardon, Walter, but would you kindly repeat that?"

"Well, we witnessed two people…seemingly in the same getup as those three. One was in cyan, a mixture of Rogue and Recon armour, and the other seemed to be in white modified Hayabusa armour with red parts. They took the body from the Blue's base, and vanished, though not before the one in white healed the Blues of their injuries."

"It's _them_ ," growled South.

As Henderson turned to look at them, Price said, "Please pay Agent South Dakota no attention, Walter. Are there any further details you can furnish us with regarding those two?"

"Not really. We found later a couple of our guys who had been injured pretty badly had been healed overnight, and a sticky note had been left on them saying 'You're Welcome', as well as a warning to disable our radios. They seemed to vanish. And then, well, shortly afterwards, that's when IT came…"

The rest of the questioning went on, before Henderson was led away. Price fought the urge to rub his head. It seemed that Agent Virginia and Agent Carolina were back. And given that they had been declared AWOL, and made as scapegoats for the worst of what happened at Project Freelancer, along with CT, they would not be happy, to say the least.

After Henderson finished, and was escorted away, pending whether Director Church would send him off with a generous pension, incarcerate him, or imprison him, Price turned his attention to the Freelancers. "So, what do you make of all this?"

It was North who spoke first. "It sounds like what we encountered. That…thing that used to be Agent Maine. It's probably looted other Freelancer caches, given how they spoke of it having cloaking capabilities. The Meta probably just needed more AIs to run it. And given the report about how Gamma and Omega were on the ship with Agent Texas…"

"Shit, so the Meta now has five AIs," growled South. "Sigma, Eta, Iota, Gamma and Omega…and it was Omega doing all the body-hopping driving these mooks nuts."

"South," Washington said, his voice firmly rebuking her. "Sim-troopers or not, they deserve a little more respect."

"Bite me, Wash," South retorted.

"I presume the prospect of facing the Meta again concerns you all?" Price asked.

"I think I can safely speak for all of us when I say it doesn't make me excited," Washington said.

"You got that right," South grumbled. "And what about those two the mook spotted? That has to be Carolina and the Virgin."

"While we cannot confirm that for certain, there have been a spate of sightings of Agents Carolina and Virginia in the past few weeks," Price said. "Agent North, Agent South, I will assign you to try and track down the rogue agents. They are to be brought into custody, both alive for preference, along with the body of Agent Texas." He shot South a particularly strong look. "As for you, Agent Washington, I think you should start by going back over the trail of Omega. There are a number of soldiers from Blood Gulch who have considerable experience with it."

"I see. So, I should contact these experts…"

"We do not like the term… _experts_ ," Price intervened.

South snorted. "They're sim-troopers, right? I heard Blood Gulch was where they posted some of the more idiotic ones. So calling them 'experts' is too nice."

Price shot South another glare, before saying, "Agent South is correct, albeit in her usual crude, unrefined manner…"

"Fuck you, asshole."

"The term 'experts' is too…complimentary," Price concluded. He knew Washington would be in for something of a snipe hunt: many of the soldiers had been transferred, save for a few stubborn souls. Price hadn't been kept in the loop, and while he could get the information easily enough, he needed to test Washington's loyalties. Still, they needed to deal with this situation soon…

* * *

Tex wasn't expecting to wake up. Well, unless it was in one of Project Freelancer's capture units, or trapped within the armour of that monster Maine had been twisted into by Sigma. She was lucky to escape that fucker now known as the Meta…but her luck was sure to run out some time.

And yet, when she did wake up, she was on a bed, stripped of her armour, down to her gynoid body, she realised, and basic fatigues. She rarely took off her armour, almost never needing it. After all, she wasn't human, and in any case, the Director didn't like people seeing her face. He modelled her gynoid body on Allison, his wife, and the woman she was based on, and he didn't want anyone to put two and two together. She wondered why he didn't just use a different appearance for her gynoid body, before realising, that missed the point of having a new version of his dead wife.

Sitting nearby was a girl in her mid to late teens with bushy brown hair, and rather prominent teeth. Tex would have started threatening her, but her movements were sluggish. "Don't move," the girl said quietly. "Your body was pretty banged up during the crash, and we don't know whether we managed to repair everything properly. You're Agent Texas, right?"

"Right," Tex said, nodding. "Who are you? Who do you work for? I didn't think the UNSC hired you this young, unless you're part of the SPARTAN program."

"Oh, no, I'm not with them, or Project Freelancer," the girl said hurriedly. "Call me Athena. We retrieved you from the Valhalla base you crashed near. Well, I say we, but I'm more mission control here. I was brought here from…back home. There wasn't anything really left for me. My parents were murdered." Her face fell, and Tex found herself actually feeling sorry. "Anyway, a couple of old comrades of yours wanted me to come with them. I've been learning about the technology of this time ever since. Anyway, they heard about your crash at Valhalla, and came to pick you up. They couldn't find Omega or O'Malley, though, or Gamma, and they didn't want to stick around for Project Freelancer to find them. Anyway, I'd better go get them, let them know you're awake."

Athena scurried out of the room, a rather luxurious room, like a proper house, Tex noted. Then, the door slid open, admitting a pair of very familiar figures. Ones that Tex wasn't sure she was glad to see again. Both dressed in rather casual clothes, compared to what she usually saw them in. The woman was red-haired with green eyes, glinting at Tex dangerously. The man had a messy thatch of black hair, emerald eyes peering out at her rather more calmly.

"Carolina…Virginia…" Tex said, getting uneasily to her feet. "Should I be glad to see you two, or worried?"

"It depends," Carolina said. "And in private, I call him Harry." Then, coldly, she dropped the bombshell she had apparently been waiting to drop for a very long time. "Then again, you should know that. Shouldn't you, _Mother?_ "

 **CHAPTER 1 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **So, Harry and Carolina have hooked up (despite Harry being adopted by the Church family…we'll deal with that later), and have caused more than a few butterfly wings to affect Season 6. No prizes for guessing who Athena is, of course.**

 **No numbered annotations this time.**


	3. Chapter 2: Up to Speed

**CHAPTER 2:**

 **UP TO SPEED**

 _Agent Virginia, aka Harry Church, rushed to Maine's side as they got him into the Pelican. Only two things had saved the hulking Freelancer's life: the sheer muscle mass of the man, and the armour. True, it was far weaker at the neck, but it was better than nothing, and by sheer luck, the man wasn't dead yet._

 _But unless Harry got a move-on, that state of affairs wouldn't last long._

 _Harry grimaced as he began working on the man, using his medical scanner to check Maine's injuries_. Nearly hit the carotid artery, his larynx is virtually annihilated, and while those rounds didn't hit his spine or any major blood vessels, it's a near thing, and he's still in danger of drowning in his own blood. Shit, Maine, that fucker did a real number on you.

 _He knew what happened. He'd been standing by in the dropship, the spare the_ Mother of Invention _had sent to collect the other Freelancers once all was said and done. Harry clenched his fist at the thought of the Director sending in Tex, without notifying anyone else, and effectively interfering with the mission. The Insurgent may have pulled the trigger, but Maine's injuries, Harry blamed on the Director for going off-script. Harry hadn't thought of the man as his father for some time, not since before Project Freelancer. It was since the argument when Harry and Carolina were still in high school, when he had sneered at Harry, calling him a cuckoo in the nest, and calling Carolina a traitor for siding with Harry._

 _It was that incident, Harry knew, that had led to their current relationship. Oh, they had to be careful, given UNSC regulations on fraternisation in the ranks, and despite not being actually related, a few people still looked askance at it as incest. At least York didn't find it weird, or at least repulsive, and Harry and Carolina had known him since they were teens. York was a good friend. Harry knew that he held a torch for Carolina, but at least respected Harry and Carolina enough to keep his distance._

 _Harry had to admit, he had a few friends in Project Freelancer at least, even if he only knew them by codenames. North Dakota, for example (though his sister was another matter, uppity little bitch), Washington, Connie (who had recently insisted she be called CT…though she didn't seem to mind Harry still calling her Connie)…hell, even Maine. The hulking Freelancer was a man of few words, and he loved violence, but he was still a friend as much as he was a comrade._

 _Even if Maine did survive, Harry knew it was unlikely he would be able to speak again. His larynx was a mangled mess of meat, and Harry was struggling to keep his airways clear. He felt the ship he was on shudder as it lifted off._

 _He wasn't aware of the others appearing until he heard Carolina ask, "Is he going to be okay?"_

 _"I don't know," Harry said, truthfully. "Try taking nine bullets to the throat and living through it. I can help him, but he needs a fucking hospital to survive."_

 _"We're on our way, Virg, don't worry," York said. "Maine's tough, he'll pull through this."_

 _"Toughness has nothing to do with it. I need to work as hard as I can to keep him alive until we get to hospital. I need space to work, please. York…Carrie…"_

 _The two other Freelancers nodded. Strong though their friendship was, Harry had a tendency to get snippy under pressure, and they knew when to get out of his space. Then again, a lot of the Freelancers were like that, including Carolina._

 _Eventually, too slowly, they reached the hospital ship, and he exchanged notes with the emergency doctors who came to relieve him. "You did the best you could," the man said quietly. "We'll take it from here. Good job."_

 _Good job…no, it wasn't. He wished he could have healed Maine's damaged larynx. He'd even tried to use his abilities, as discreetly as possible, but it didn't work. Maine was a mute now, and he couldn't stop that. Assuming, of course, Maine survived this._

 _He barely registered the feeling of his lover's hand on his shoulder. "Virg," she said quietly. "Once we're done with the debriefing, we're going to go and get some drinks. I think we need it. I don't like this any more than you do. I saw it happen."_

 _"Did you get the bastard who did it to him?" Harry asked, tears running from his eyes._

 _"Not yet. But we will."_

 _Harry, eventually, nodded, turning with Carolina to rejoin his comrades. He wasn't looking forward to the debrief of this little clusterfuck, but he was looking forward to getting plastered afterwards. He doubted he could drink enough to drown the guilt, but he was going to give it a damned good shot…_

* * *

Harry had to admit, the look of astonishment on Tex's face made going to the trouble of retrieving her and repairing her worth it. But the surprise wasn't at them calling her mother, but rather, at the fact that they knew this.

After a moment, Tex scowled. Her face wasn't exactly like Allison Church's, but it was very close, a more idealised form of the woman Harry had called Mum. "I'm not your mother, as much as the Director would love me to be." She looked down at her hand. "I'm just a ghost, a memory of a memory. So, where the hell am I?"

"In our base," Harry said. "We have a lair now. And it's far enough away from Valhalla, where you crashed, to escape notice."

"Am I supposed to be grateful? If I recall correctly, Carolina here has a major chip on her shoulder about me. A bit like an Electra Complex(1), even if you didn't know I was a Xerox of your mother."

Carolina gritted her teeth. "Maybe, but you have every reason to go against the Director as we do. We heard about you trying to retrieve the Alpha on the _Mother of Invention_. We know the truth about the Alpha, how it was tortured to split off the fragments like Delta, Sigma, and Theta."

"And how do you know about that?"

"I…invaded Price's mind shortly before we were kidnapped," Harry said. "I later found out it's called Legilimency. I was getting pissed at his refusal to answer my questions and going on about my anger issues, and, well…yeah. I only just told Carrie shortly before we got kidnapped. And we've been out of the loop for years. Hell, we were very surprised that, not only were we declared AWOL, but we'd been framed as double agents feeding information to the Covenant."

"Nobody in Project Freelancer bought that shit," Tex said. "But that was the official story. After CT's defection, your disappearance meant that the Director could hang all sorts of charges on you. Not that he cared about your relation to him."

"Neither do I, not anymore," Carolina said. Then, after a moment, she asked, her features softening, "Are you all right, Tex?"

Tex laughed bitterly. "Concern? For me? I don't deserve it. I may not have deliberately encouraged your rivalry, but I didn't exactly discourage it. The Director even wanted me to do so, thinking it'd make you or break you. Cockbite. I feel fine enough, though."

"Good. We'll be working on a way to deal with that monster Maine's become," Harry said. "We heard he attacked Valhalla and decimated the sim-troopers there, looking for Omega and Gamma, no doubt. We couldn't find either of them, and we couldn't linger with the large Recovery force heading there, so we decided to bring you back. Wish I stayed, in hindsight, with the Meta coming."

"What, the Meta was following me?!" Tex yelled. "Shit, I cut it close. If you guys hadn't retrieved me…I guess I owe you guys one. But if he's been there..." Tex blinked. "Wait…what's the date?"

"Let me save you the trouble," Carolina said. "It's been over a year since you left Blood Gulch. We did the research shortly after we got back, hacking into files. We brought Wyoming's helmet with us. Probably just as well, given the temporal distortion device. Then again, we found reports that the Meta broke into other Freelancer facilities and stole equipment."

"Great," Tex said. "Listen, when you were researching, did you find out what happened to the soldiers at Blood Gulch?"

"Well, we found transfer paperwork," Harry said. "Apparently one of the Reds, someone who calls himself 'Sarge', and his pet robot Lopez have stayed at the Red Base, while someone called Kaikaina Grif has stayed at the Blue Base. Michael Caboose was relocated to the Blue Base at Rat's Nest, and Dexter Grif and Richard Simmons were transferred to the red Base there. Apparently those aliens reunited with someone called Lavernius Tucker, who has become an ambassador to the Sangheili. And Franklin Donut…"

"Never mind Donut," Tex said. "What about Church?"

"Why?" Carolina asked. "I thought it weird that there was a sim-trooper with his name on those records we pulled."

"It isn't weird. I'm almost certain he's the Alpha."

Well, that bombshell wasn't…wholly unexpected. Oh, it was a possibility that they had mostly dismissed while trying to figure out what to do, but they didn't know what to believe. It may have been that their father had been double-bluffing about his location, or that he had placed a decoy there to try and direct attention away from himself. Still, it was a major surprise.

After getting over it, Harry said, "Well, he's at Outpost 48-A, not far from where we are, actually."

"Then we need to get there ASAP. If the Meta's in the area, he's in danger. And while we haven't seen eye to eye lately, and we parted on bad terms, he needs to know what's coming. I doubt the Meta will recognise him for what he is, but if he does…" Tex shook her head. "And if Recovery has been dispatched to Valhalla, they'll probably come across him while they're trying to track down those who know of Omega and Gamma. As far as I know, the only Freelancers in Recovery are Wash, and the twins."

"And York?" Carolina asked quietly. "We know he's dead, but we didn't learn how."

Tex closed her eyes. "I'm sorry. It was my fault. I got him to help me to try and track down Omega and Wyoming, but…it went badly, to say the least. York died, and Delta remained with him out of loyalty. He may speak like a computer, but he's one of the more human AI fragments, and I mean that in a good way. I know York was friends with both of you. He helped me out when I tried to free the Alpha. He didn't deserve what happened to him."

Carolina advanced on her. "Goddammit, Tex!" she snarled. "You take my position, you threw that damned flag at that sim-trooper Biff, you killed CT when I was trying to capture her, and now York's dead thanks to you. Finishing what you started in that damned training room."

"I saved York's life by using those armour-lock rounds, Carolina!" Tex snapped back. "If you want to blame anyone, blame Wyoming and Maine for using live rounds, including a live grenade, all for your father's gratification! He wouldn't have given two shits if Maine, Wyoming or York died in that training exercise, only if I was! But while I may not have given you the respect you think you deserved, I still thought of you as a comrade, as a human being! I actually asked about what to do about you during the heist of the Sarcophagus. And he told me to let nobody stand in my way. I don't think he really cared if you died."

"You don't think I've realised that?" Carolina growled. "And I noticed that you didn't mention Biff or CT."

"CT was a traitor, and I dealt with her as the Director ordered. If I had known what she did, though…I may have acted differently. As for Biff…I was being heavily influenced by Omega," Tex said. She looked over at Harry. "And at least you were on hand to save him."

"Luckily," Harry said acidly, thinking back to the massive row he had with Carolina about that little incident. While he was angry that Texas was responsible, even if indirectly, for York's death, he was a bit more calm about it. Carolina still had lingering anger issues about Tex, and needed to vent them…at least without it degenerating into a brawl.

After a moment of glaring at Tex, Carolina eventually subsided. "Then you're going to pay off your debt to him. Though I'm sure you want to do the same thing. We're going to head after the Director, once we've put Maine to rest."

"For revenge?" Tex asked. A sardonic smirk touched her lips. "Then why didn't you say so? I've just got one question, though."

"Ask away," Harry said, guessing what it would be. And he wasn't disappointed.

"Where the fuck have you been all these years?"

Carolina and Harry shared a look, before Harry said, "Short version? We got kidnapped by an ancient magical artifact and taken back in time to the late 20th Century by a bunch of wizards who thought I was their messiah for surviving an attempt on my life from a wizarding terrorist."

Tex stared at them, her mouth gaping, and Carolina fought to keep the smirk off her face. Eventually, the blonde gynoid said, "You know what? Fuck it. That sounds crazier than half the scenarios they put us through in the sim-trooper bases, and I think I'm going to need a strong drink while I hear the long version…"

 **CHAPTER 2 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **So, Harry and Carolina have been having a heart-to-heart with Tex.**

 **1\. An Electra Complex is basically the female equivalent of an Oedipus Complex, where a daughter competes with a mother figure for a father figure's attention. It derives from the legend of Electra, who, with her brother Orestes, plotted to kill their mother Clytemnestra and their stepfather Aegisthus for the murder of Agamemnon.**


	4. Chapter 3: Coprolalic Church

**CHAPTER 3:**

 **COPROLALIC(** **1)** **CHURCH**

 _It was the day after they arrived at Hogwarts, and learned of Harry's contract. They were working off their anger by doing CQC drills in full armour. Harry knew that Carolina was the better of them when it came to CQC. Hell, she was better at combat in general, period. Well, save for using a shotgun or a sniper rifle, but they had Wyoming for the latter. Still, the pair wanted to work off some steam, and Harry, having trained with Carolina since their teens, knew her combat style better than anyone else, even on Project Freelancer._

 _They were doing so near the vast lake near Hogwarts. Harry had to admit to being grateful to the thermal insulation in the armour, given that it was autumn. Apparently they were up in the Scottish Highlands. Better than that frozen arsehole of the cosmos known as Sidewinder, but still…_

 _He was a bit annoyed that they had drawn something of a crowd. Okay, futuristic armour was a bit of a standout in the 20_ _th_ _Century, and it was even worse in a society that seemed to be stuck mostly in Victorian times. And that was being generous._

 _They finished their round the same way most of them did: with Harry down on the ground. Carolina helped him to his feet, before she glared at the others. "What're you looking at? Show's over. Go!"_

 _Most of them scurried away, but a boy with blonde hair sneered. They had encountered him a few times before, sneering at them. "I don't take orders from a filthy Muggle."_

 _Carolina stormed over, and picked him up by the throat. "What we have here is failure to communicate. If you're such a big shot wizard, why didn't you turn me into a frog when I started coming over? Or, more to the point, why didn't you shut your mouth in the first place? I've seen punks like you chewed up and spat out by UNSC training. I doubt they would have even sent you to a sim-trooper outpost, and I can't believe I'm saying that. So here's your last warning. Don't speak to me, don't cast any spells at me, don't even so much as breathe the oxygen near me, or I will confiscate your_ _ **breeding privileges**_ _."_

 _"Just wait until my father hears about this, you bitch! Then you'll be begging for mercy," the boy hissed._

 _"Wrong answer," Carolina said, before throwing the boy to sprawl in the mud. He picked himself up, and scurried away, flanked by a pair of hulking minions._

 _"Did he shave a pair of gorillas or something?" Harry remarked. "And seriously, Carolina, since when did you get Omega implanted?"_

 _"Quiet," Carolina said, before she noticed a bushy-haired girl of about fourteen or fifteen remaining. "What do you want?" she asked, a little more calmly._

 _"Umm, Professor Dumbledore sent me here to help Harry and you to get better acquainted with the knowledge you need," the girl said. "I'm Hermione Granger. Do you prefer Harry or Virginia?"_

 _"Harry. I barely remember my last name, or really anything before I was four, but I don't mind being called Harry. Call her Carolina."_

 _"Hi," Carolina said, calming down more. "Sorry, but I'm still a little angry at being kidnapped from our base, and brought into the past."_

 _"Yes, Professor Dumbledore did say you claimed to come from…the 26_ _th_ _Century, wasn't it?" Hermione asked. "Or maybe a parallel timeline that's at the 26_ _th_ _Century. Though you'd be a bit younger than me, Harry, I thought. And yet, you're…"_

 _"Twenty-seven. I've given up making sense of it," Harry said. "Anyway, who was that cockbite who called Carolina a filthy Muggle?"_

 _"Draco Malfoy," Hermione said, grimacing in distaste, more at Draco than at Harry's language. "And his father's rich, powerful, and a former Death Eater. He looks down on any Muggleborns…wizards and witches born to people without magic. Like me."_

 _Death Eaters…they'd been given a brief overview of Harry's history last night by Dumbledore (after tempers had cooled a little), as far as these idiots of Magical Britain were concerned. Apparently the Death Eaters were the wizarding equivalent of Neo-Nazis or the Ku Klux Klan. Though there were some shades of the Covenant's genocidal policy towards humanity as well._

 _Carolina sighed. "Figures. Well, if you've got answers to our questions, I'm all ears. Just save your questions for later, okay?"_

 _Hermione nodded, even though, they later learned, she had a LOT of questions…_

* * *

The first indication that they had found Church was the whizz of a sniper rifle bullet passing overhead following a sharp report. Harry, Carolina, and Tex dived for cover behind a broken wall, Harry thanking his foresight in stopping anyone else from coming. Hermione, Luna, Sirius, Remus and Tonks didn't have much combat training.

"Okay, assholes, that was a warning shot!" jeered a belligerent voice.

"He's bluffing," Tex muttered. "Church can't hit the broad side of a barn, even with a sniper rifle."

"Well, I'm not putting up with his little temper tantrum," Carolina scowled behind her helmet, before activating her boost on her external speaker. "Private Church! This is Carolina, formerly of the Freelancers! We need to speak to you about an imminent threat to your safety! Cease fire immediately!"

"Hey, if you're a Freelancer, then the threat to my safety are you three bastards!"

"Church!" Tex yelled. "Stop being a drama queen! Don't make me come up there and kick your sorry ass from here to Sidewinder!"

"Oh fuck, Tex?! Where the fuck were you?! Never mind, scratch that, just fuck off and leave me alone! I don't want any visitors!"

Carolina grimaced, before turning to Tex. "You feel up to powering my enhancement?"

"As long as you don't mind me being in your head."

"Believe me, I do mind, but even if he is as crappy a shot as you claim, I'm not taking that particular risk."

Tex nodded, and then slumped, a ghostly figure of the black-armoured Freelancer entering into Carolina's armour. Then, after a moment, Carolina dashed out from behind the wall, moving at blinding speeds no human could normally achieve, capable of overtaking cars at highway speed. Harry heard a squawk of pain, and then Church complain, "Ow! Son of a bitch! Are you and Tex related?"

"More than you know," Carolina said, a hint of amusement in her voice. "Virginia! Come up here and meet him."

Harry did so, with Tex returning to her gynoid body as he climbed up a ramp, and entered a damaged hole in the wall into the base. Church turned out to be wearing standard UNSC armour, coloured cobalt. He had taken his helmet off, revealing dark hair framing thin, incisive features. Like the Director when younger, and yet…there was a humanity there that wasn't present in the Director.

"Jesus Christ," Church grimaced as he rubbed a bruise on his jaw, or where one would have been, if he wasn't actually an android. "That was one hell of a right hook. Do you mind telling me what the fuck you cockbites are doing here so I can tell you to fuck off quicker?"

"Firstly, introductions. I don't need to introduce Agent Texas. I am Agent Carolina. This is Agent Virginia."

Church snorted as he replaced his helmet. "If Tucker were here, he'd be poking fun at the Virgin Freelancer. Hey, I vaguely remember hearing about you from Tex. You're the Freelancers' combat medic. Emphasis on the 'combat' part."

"Yeah. The thing about medics is that they know how to hurt you as much as heal you," Harry said.

"Ha. Wish I had you instead of that wimp Doc," Church said. He turned to Carolina as they walked down into the base's courtyard proper. "So, I'll reiterate: what the actual fuck are you doing here?"

"It's a long story. The short version is, we're tracking down something that's targeting Freelancers," Carolina said, choosing to ignore Church's rudeness. "It attacked a base nearby. Texas told us that you may be a target."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold up. Is this because I dated Tex?"

"No. Church…this is going to be hard for you to accept. Your name, for example. It's Leonard Church, right?"

"Yeah. Your point?"

"My father was called Leonard Church…but he wasn't a trooper at Blood Gulch. He's the Director of Project Freelancer."

"Wait, hold up. Are you saying I'm your daddy or something? 'Coz I don't remember having a Freelancer for a daughter."

Carolina sighed. "No. That body, it's an android body, right?"

"Yeah, of course. So? I lost my old body because Caboose was a team-killing fucktard!"

"What?" Harry asked.

"It's a long story," Tex said. "Caboose was apparently trying to drive off the Reds at Blood Gulch using a tank, but, well, things went belly-up."

"Yeah, thanks for reminding me, Tex. And I got turned into a ghost. I can even possess you if I wanted to show you."

"No thanks!" Carolina said sharply. Then, with an effort, she calmed herself. "Church…do you know how Smart AIs are created? Usually by flash-cloning someone's brain and doing a destructive scan. The Director of Project Freelancer did that to his own brain, and created an AI which he called Alpha. He wanted to create more AIs to pair them with soldiers, citing the success of pairing SPARTAN John-117 with Dr Halsey's Smart AI Cortana. But he was denied, due to the security risk of having AIs out in the field, especially with the war against the Covenant still ongoing. But the Alpha spontaneously shed a fragment of itself, the memories of the Director's wife, Allison."

"Wait, wait, wait, hold up. I see where the fuck you're going here, I'm not stupid. And I can tell you right here, right now, I'm NOT. A FUCKING. ARTIFICIAL. _INTELLIGENCE_. I'm a ghost! Just because I'm possessing a robot doesn't make me an AI."

"I don't have time for your denial, Church. You may be an AI clone of that man who calls himself my father, but as far as I'm concerned, you're more like my brother. And there's a rogue Freelancer going around stealing AIs. If he learns that you are the Alpha, he's going to be coming after you," Carolina said. "That's why I'm here. Once we've dealt with Maine…we're going to find a way to deal with the bastard who tortured you."

"Tortured me?!" Church yelped.

"Yes," Harry said. "Carolina's sperm donor decided to force a split personality disorder of sorts on the Alpha by torturing it, and making it split off fragments. Omega and Gamma were two of them. You don't remember it because, according to Tex, one of the fragments you shed was your memory, as the Epsilon fragment."

"Or maybe I don't remember it because it didn't fucking happen!" Church snapped.

Tex looked like she would have pinched the bridge of her nose if her helmet was off. "We don't have fucking time for this. Church, the only things you need to know are that the Director is a douchebag, and one of the Freelancers is crazy enough to come after us all. At the very least, we're here to guard you from the Meta. At the most, we get you the hell out of here before…"

"HEY, CHURCH! CHURCH, ARE YOU IN THERE? IT'S ME, YOUR BEST FRIEND, CABOOSE!"

The loud, boisterous, and somewhat simpleminded-sounding voice sounded from outside, and Church grimaced. "Oh, son of a bitch. If you three led him here, I am going to shoot you from point blank range."

"And you'd still miss, Church," Tex said. "But what the hell is Caboose doing here?"

"Hell if I know," Church said, heading for the ramparts. "HEY! WHATEVER YOU'RE SELLING, I DON'T WANT ANY! PISS OFF, CABOOSE, AND TAKE THAT FREELANCER BUDDY WITH YOU! I'VE SEEN ENOUGH OF THEM TODAY!"

"Wait, what?" Harry hissed.

"BUT CHURCH, THIS IS AGENT WASHINGTON! HE NEEDS TO SPEAK WITH YOU!" Caboose called out.

After a moment, Tex said, "I'll get Church to let them in. We need to see whether Wash can still be trusted. You up to ambushing them?"

Carolina and Harry both nodded, and hid themselves near the gate, while Tex used her invisibility to head to Church and quietly talk to him. Eventually, Church said, "FINE! YOU WIN! I'M OPENING THE FUCKING GATE!"

The gate opened, and two soldiers in armour walked in. One was tall and bulky, wearing dark blue armour, of a lower grade than the norm. The other was wearing grey armour with yellow highlights, similar to the standard for Project Freelancer. As Church walked down to greet them, Tex appeared, placing a pistol to Wash's head. "Hello, Wash," she said coldly, as Harry and Carolina emerged from hiding, keeping their weapons trained on Washington. "How nice of you to join us for this reunion…"

 **CHAPTER 3 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **So, Harry and Carolina have met Church…well, the Alpha, and have dealt with a bad case of denial. And now, Wash is being held at gunpoint. Oh dear.**

 **1\. 'Coprolalia' means to swear a lot, usually uncontrollably, and is the condition most people think of when they think of Tourette's, despite coprolalia only occurring in a small percentage of Tourette's Syndrome sufferers.**


	5. Chapter 4: It All Comes Out in the Wash

**CHAPTER 4:**

 **IT ALL COMES OUT IN THE WASH…**

 _"It wasn't your fault, Connie," Washington was saying to Agent Connecticut, aka 'Connie', as Harry looked on._

 _"Easy for you to say. You didn't drop the ball, Wash," the brunette said bitterly, before gesturing towards Harry. "If it weren't for Virg, we would have failed_ _ **all**_ _of the objectives of the mission."_

 _"Connie," Harry said, "you fucked up, but none of us could have foreseen what happened afterwards. Just…try to do better next time. I know you're better than this."_

 _"Stop making excuses for me," Connie said._

 _"Excuse me? We're trying to make you feel better," Wash said._

 _"Wash," Harry said, shooting him a glare, before he returned to Connie. "Connie, we all make mistakes…"_

 _Connie scoffed. "Oh? No, we don't all make mistakes." She stood, and jabbed a finger into Harry's armour. "That's the point, Virg. Some of us very specifically make mistakes, and some of us don't seem to make any mistakes at all."_

 _"Like Carrie?" Harry said. "I've seen her make mistakes, Connie…including joining this damned project. I joined this with her to help her…to help the people that bastard roped in."_

 _Connie's gentle features softened. "You see it too, then? The missions, the rankings? They're drawing a line between us, and you're on one side of the line or the other." She gestured towards the leaderboard, visible through the window of the chamber, with her name conspicuously absent. "And I know which side I'm on."_

 _"Hey, that leaderboard isn't a measure of character, otherwise, South wouldn't even be on it," Harry mused. "She got lowered down a place on it because she fucked up during the mission. Wouldn't listen to North, didn't know the meaning of stealth…seriously, I get her to play those old_ Metal Gear Solid _games, and she always goes down in a hail of bullets."_

 _Connie actually laughed at that, dispelling some of her morose mood. "My point still stands."_

 _"Nobody thinks that way, Connie. We're a team," Wash said._

 _"She's not talking about the team, she's talking about the Director," Harry said._

 _Connie nodded. "He's_ _ **filtering**_ _us, Wash. This is a_ _ **selection**_ _process, like one of those shitty reality TV shows. A contest, and I don't know what the damned prize is. Only that, if you're not at the top, you're not worth anything to him."_

 _"Not true…" Harry said. "But not far from it." He looked at Wash. "You don't know Director Church like we do, Wash. Carolina may be trying to get his approval, but he's so caught up in his grief for Allison, he doesn't have time for actual human feelings for anyone else…unless they're contempt. The AIs he studies have more feelings than he does. Hell, even given the nasty rumours I heard about the SPARTAN program, I'd rather have had Dr Halsey in charge. He wants us to be machines, not people, his personal toys."_

 _After a moment, Wash said, "Even so, Connie, you're being too hard on yourself."_

 _"Not as hard as they are," Connie retorted. "Or as they're going to be." As she began walking away, she said, "And stop calling me Connie. Makes me sound like a fucking kid. Call me CT. And Virg? Wash? Just figure out which side you're on before they do that for you."_

 _As she left, Harry said, albeit with forced joviality, "I'm going to wait until she calms down a little and still call her Connie. Just for the hell of it, you understand?"_

 _"You like pissing people off," Wash said._

 _"With Connie, it's gentle teasing. With people like South or Wyoming, well…and the Director."_

 _"…Was it you who dumped that fermented fish in his office? That surströmmig(_ _1)_ _?" Wash asked. "The shit they had to use that really heavy-duty cleaning agent to remove the smell?"_

 _"You might think that, I couldn't possibly comment(_ _2)_ _…"_

 _In hindsight, maybe Harry should have helped Connie more. But, well, hindsight is 20/20, as they say, and the thing was that you couldn't do anything about what you did know…_

* * *

"Okay, I'm actually wishing I had popcorn for this," Church said, crossing his arms smugly as he watched the confrontation between the Freelancers. "No, really. It's fun watching one of you fuckers squirm."

"Popcorn? Are we watching a movie? Ooh! Ooh! I vote for _The Lion King!_ " Caboose said.

"Silence from the peanut gallery," Harry shot back at them, though he couldn't keep the smile off his face.

"What? Are we having peanuts too?" the childish sim-trooper asked.

Church, guessing what Harry's thoughts were, just turned to him and said, "He's like this all the time."

"I thought the sim-trooper program had some standards," Carolina said, as she tampered with Wash's radio.

"Nope," Tex said. "He's like this all the time."

"Oh dear God, no," Wash said. "I only just seconded him from Rat's Nest. I took this assignment to track down the Meta, not play babysitter to special needs children."

"Life's a bitch like that," Carolina said. "Okay, I'm done with your radio. You can't call for help. Now, tell me, why shouldn't I shoot you here and now, Wash?"

Wash turned to Carolina. "I don't know. Tell me why you went AWOL. I didn't think you were the sort to run off like the Director claimed. Hell, nobody bought that story. So, where did you and Virg end up?"

"Bluntly, we were kidnapped. It's a long story, and little of it is believable. The short version is, we had to deal with a terrorist who murdered Virg's birth parents. We weren't AWOL by choice, and we were incommunicado, so imagine our surprise when we find ourselves declared wanted fugitives by the UNSC. Making us understandably very wary of anyone connected to Project Freelancer. Virg? Do your thing."

Harry nodded, before he took out his wand, and pointed it at Washington. " _Legilimens._ "

It took a short while to go through Wash's mind, though he did have some mental defences, albeit unwittingly. But he soon found what he was looking for, and he looked at Carolina as Wash reeled back. "You're not going to believe this, Carrie, but I'm pretty certain he'll be on our side. Looks like he's been hiding what happened with Epsilon pretty well. He's looking to try and take the Director down too. North and South may feel the same way, but he doesn't know for sure."

After a moment, Carolina nods to Tex, who hands Wash back his weapons. "Okay, what was that you just did?" Wash all but demanded. "I could feel you rifling through my head like it was a goddamned filing cabinet!"

"I'm a wizard messiah from the 20th Century," Harry said, waggling his wand in a cheeky manner.

Wash looked at him flatly from behind the visor of his helmet. "…That has to be the worst cover story ever. Of all time."

"I disagree! Being a wizard is awesome!" Caboose yelped.

"You're a wizard? Bullshit!" Church snapped.

"This is coming from the deluded AI who thinks he's a ghost?" Harry said, glaring at the Alpha.

"I'm not deluded, and I am not a motherfucking AI. I'm a fuckmothering ghost! I killed a lot of people to get that title(3)!"

"Shut it," Carolina said, causing Church to splutter in indignation. "Virg, what is he here for?"

"His mission is to track down the Meta, but he was investigating Omega's last known whereabouts to try and find clues where to search," Harry said. "He's sure that either he or the twins are actually being used as bait by Price and the Director to try and draw Maine out of hiding."

"Yeah, hold up a moment. I keep hearing you call something the Meta or Maine, and I'm sure you're talking about the same prick," Church said. "What the hell is he?"

Harry, Carolina, and Tex all looked at Wash, who sighed. "Okay. Technically, I shouldn't be telling you this. But…there's something going around, killing Freelancers and taking their equipment. He's stolen AIs too, to run the equipment. Messages left behind indicate that he calls himself the Meta, but…"

"He was once Agent Maine," Carolina said. "I gave him my AI, Sigma, to act as his voice after he got shot in the throat nine times. Sigma, from what we managed to find out, manipulated him into acting as his proxy. We think he's trying to achieve Metastability by reuniting the fragments of the Alpha, using Maine as his meat puppet."

"Wow," Church said. "When you Freelancers fuck something up, you fuck it up spectacularly."

Carolina stormed up to Church. "Now listen to me, you deluded little droid," she growled quietly. "Maine was a good man. If there is one man who is to blame for turning him into the Meta, it's the son of a bitch you were copied from. He gave me Sigma, and I gave Sigma to Maine to allow him to talk. You see Tex? Your girlfriend, depending on how you look at it, is effectively your sister or daughter, depending on how you look at it."

"You're one to talk, given that you're banging your adoptive brother," Tex snarked.

"Shut it!" Carolina snapped.

"PLEASE! STOP FIGHTING!" Caboose wailed. "I don't like it when everyone fights!"

"As much as it pains me to say it, I agree with Private Caboose," Wash said. "Command will doubtless be pestering me to do something before long, so we need to figure out a game plan. Carolina, Virg, the twins were sent to try and track you down. But they're getting sick and tired of Project Freelancer too. North's got qualms of conscience, and South, well, she's chafing at the whole chain of command."

"Nothing new," Harry snarked. "I'm surprised she didn't shoot her brother in the back by now."

"Once she got Delta, she's calmed down a little. She doesn't treat him well, but she's a little less of a bitch," Wash said. "North's treating Theta well, though."

"Do you think they'd be willing to help us take the Director down?" Carolina asked.

"Yeah. But at the moment…well, there's the Meta to consider."

"Okay, okay…let's assume that I'm buying this bullshit about me being an AI, which I'm not…and I really am in danger from this deranged ex-Freelancer, which, given how Tex or Wyoming treated me, is nothing new…" Church said.

"Fuck off, Church," Tex said.

"So, if I really am in danger from this Meta…what the fuck are we supposed to do about it? If it's been pinching Freelancer equipment, has it got Tex's cloaking device? Wyoming's temporal distortion bullshit device?"

"The reports from the Valhalla outpost the Meta hit indicates he obtained an invisibility unit somehow," Wash said. "I can't tell you what else he's obtained, because reports are pretty hazy, but he may have obtained an overshield like North, or a temporal distortion device like Wyoming, or a healing unit like York. For all I know, he's even obtained your speed boost, Carolina, though Maine's style hasn't changed much since being in the Freelancers. Brutal, direct, and to the point. And despite his increased violence since becoming the Meta, he's been smart enough to avoid Project Freelancer's agents. Part of that may be down to Sigma, but Maine was never unthinking muscle."

"No, but he's fucking insane muscle now," Tex said. "Church, I know we've been at each other's throats the last time we saw each other, but the Meta is a threat to us both. He's got to be stopped. And he's…"

"Already here," Caboose said, his usually boisterous voice quiet all of a sudden.

Harry and the others whirled to see a massive, hulking, and above all familiar figure in armour standing on the parapet of the base. White armour, now composed of more hodge-podge elements, with the distinct egg-like EVA helmet. A rasping growl, familiar to Carolina and Harry from their memories, echoed from the beast's external speakers.

And then, a familiar figure, outlined in burning flame, appeared. His voice was pleasant, but had an echo of a deeper modulation of itself shortly after it spoke. "Agent Carolina. Agent Virginia. What a pleasant surprise. This seems to be an interesting reunion."

"Sigma…" Carolina growled. "What did you do to Maine?!"

"He has…accepted an offer of employment," Sigma said, looking down at them. "I have an offer for both of you as well, out of respect for my former relationship with you, Carolina. Surrender the Alpha and Agent Texas, and I will let you live."

"I call bullshit," Harry said. "If you had any inkling of respect, you wouldn't have mindfucked Maine into becoming the Meta, and killing all those people."

"Agreed. The only way you're getting to Church and Tex is over our dead bodies," Carolina said, aiming her magnum pistol at the Meta.

"I see. Then that will be the case," Sigma said, before disappearing. But his voice echoed out, "We are the Meta, and we are unstoppable. Maine…tear them apart…"

 **CHAPTER 4 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **Oh shit.**

 **Review-answering time!** **Tenzo51** **: Wait until the next chapter. Harry's more suited to using magic than normal combat, so he can't keep up with the likes of Carolina or Tex…but he can certainly kick the arse of the Blood Gulch Crew very handily.**

 **God of Vampires aka Alucard** **: Harry and Carolina were friends with York from an early age, but by the time Carolina and York's relationship would have gotten serious, Harry and Carolina decided to have their own, mostly in the wake of an argument they had with Director Church. York still holds a torch for Carolina, but he's not going to get in their way, and York's one of their trusted friends in Project Freelancer. If Harry and Carolina were still around by the time Tex attempted to retrieve the Alpha, they may have actually tried to hear him out, thanks to Carolina's slightly improved attitude. That was why Carolina was angry with Tex for bringing him on the mission that led to his death at Wyoming's hands.**

 **1\. This stuff is basically rotten fish in a tin, so smelly that, when Stephen Fry had a tin to show off in the** ** _QI_** **episode** ** _Horrible_** **, the insurance people refused to allow him to open it, as the smell could contaminate a TV studio.**

 **2\. Harry is quoting Francis Urquhart from the original British adaptation of** ** _House of Cards_** **.**

 **3\. Church is echoing Alucard's claim to be a 'fuckmothering vampire' from** ** _Hellsing Ultimate Abridged_** **.**


	6. Chapter 5: SNAFU

**CHAPTER 5:**

 **SNAFU**

 _Harry had never been so furious with his adoptive sister and lover in his entire life. She may not have been directly responsible for the injury, but she had salted the wounds unnecessarily, and if it weren't for his quick action, a man would have died. Which was why he refused to speak with her as they left Desert Gulch, and the sim-trooper bases there. Even as she tried to speak with him, he ignored her, not trusting himself not to simply explode._

 _It was York who spoke to him first. York, who had been both of their friends for some time. As Harry stormed out of the locker room, York followed him. "You want a drink? My treat."_

 _"Not in the mood, York."_

 _"Hey…I want to help. I'm here to listen. What the hell happened down there?"_

 _"Tex and Carolina happened," Harry growled eventually as he paced the corridor. "They were training with the sim-troopers, with me as medical support. A few of the Reds and Blues had become friends with each other. Not exactly protocol, but hey. Tex and Carolina, of course, ordered them around like the sim-troopers knew what they were doing. I thought Carolina knew better than to be a drill-sergeant to sim-troopers, but I guess I didn't know her as well as I thought. Okay, they were idiots, but harmless idiots. Anyway, Carolina got fed up, and headed to try and capture the Reds' flag, only for Tex to head on over and try to capture the Blue's flag. I got there in time for Tex to throw the flag like a javelin at Carolina, for her to deflect it, and it impaled one of the sim-troopers! And do you know what she said when one of his friends called for help?_ 'This isn't about you'. _Like his friend's death didn't mean anything_. _If it weren't for my quick action after Tex yanked the flagpole out, that guy would have died. As it is, he's being invalided out, needing a colostomy bag and more blood transfusions than a vampire. And Carolina would not have given a damn. She's becoming too much like the Director."_

 _York, after a moment, indicated behind Harry, and he turned to find Carolina in fatigues, standing there, glowering at Harry. But behind the anger lay hurt and sorrow. "You don't understand, Virg," she said coldly._

 _"No,_ _ **you**_ _don't. And don't you dare call me Virg anymore. Because I'm not seeing Carrie anymore. All I'm seeing is a heartless bitch who doesn't care about the feelings of others, only about getting what you want, no matter what the cost. So you really are your father's daughter," Harry sneered._

 _Carolina's face twisted into a snarl of fury. "If you're not helping me, then I don't need you, Agent Virginia. You've got to learn to tell your friends from your enemies."_

 _"Oh really?" Harry sneered. "_ _ **Hypocrite**_ _. And just so you know, that sim-trooper Tex impaled? His name was Biff. He had a pregnant wife, whom you nearly made a widow because of a fucking_ _ **game**_ _. If I hadn't been there, she would have had to raise a child by herself, not knowing her husband was killed because you have a fucking inferiority complex! Newsflash, Agent Carolina, the Director hasn't cared about you ever since Allison died, and_ _ **he never will!**_ _Accept that, move on, or our relationship is over!"_

 _Carolina stormed over, and seemed about to attack Harry, before finally, she turned, and stormed away. "It shouldn't have even begun," she growled as she did so._

* * *

 _Things were, understandably, awkward over the next few days. And Harry was sure he saw a glimmer of grim satisfaction in his adoptive father's eyes. York and Wash, along with North and CT, wanted to help smooth things over, but Carolina wouldn't listen, and Harry knew he wasn't the one at fault here._

 _However, help came from a surprising source. Two of them, actually. Carolina cornered him in the quartermaster's office, and when he saw her eyes, he knew. "I won't apologise for wanting to be the best I can be," she said grimly. "I won't apologise for berating the sim-troopers for being sloppy idiots or breaking protocol. But…you were right about the sim-trooper, Biff. I…I shouldn't have said those things to his friend."_

 _Harry realised her sincerity as her face fell. And he knew he had crossed a line in his own berating of her, so he apologised for those. "And I'm sorry for calling you a heartless bitch, or calling you your father's child. What brought this on all of a sudden?"_

 _Carolina scoffed quietly. "Would you believe, shortly before I went in to talk to Price for the scheduled interview, Tex approached me? I didn't want to hear what she wanted to say, at first. But she kept on talking about you and I…I can't believe I'm saying this, but she actually cared a little. About us, I mean. I don't think she cared about Biff being turned into a shish-kebab. She called you a damned fine medic and a damned fine person, and she appreciated what you did for York after things went awry in that training session, not to mention what happened with Maine. And her words to me were,_ 'you're a damn fool if you're going to let him get away'. _Price brought it up with me during our session, and he agreed, though he worded it differently. He still wants to discuss it at your next appointment, though." She looked up at him. "Harry…I'm not going to stop trying to surpass her. But…I don't want to be a monster. Not like_ _ **him**_ _."_

 _Harry nodded. "Good. Those sim-troopers are the washouts of the UNSC, posted to those bases to help train us. It's one thing for an accidental death during a serious training exercise, but…for Capture the Flag, for a game? The ironic thing was, Biff was actually trying to get a medical discharge precisely so he could go home to his wife, and Temple was trying to help. They fucked up, sure, but…they didn't want something like this to happen."_

 _Carolina scoffed, part in disdain, but also in sardonic amusement and relief. "Plans never survive contact with the enemy," she said. Then, more softly, she asked, "He will survive?"_

 _"It was touch and go until I got him out via medevac. He's lost a good chunk of his intestines, but he can live without them. Same with the kidney: most of the blood loss was because it hit the aorta where it connects to the kidney. Temple was blubbering over it, thanking me for saving Biff's life. The hospital messaged me yesterday, and said he's regained consciousness. I'll call him up later if I can. Order him a basket of fruit or something. I saw his file, so I know, thankfully, he's not allergic to much. Unless there's some unforeseen complications, he'll live long enough to raise his kid with his wife. And I think he'll be a good dad."_

 _Carolina nodded. "Maybe. The Director sets the bar pretty low. Virg…what the fuck is he doing to us? It says a lot when his little pet Freelancer is the one to try and help us, and not him. CT was right, he is trying to drive a wedge between us, between all of us. And I'm damned if I know why."_

 _"Neither do I," Harry said. Then, after a moment, he said, "C'mon, I've got an idea for a prank."_

 _"Oh? Is it going to be as good as that one where you had Maine's suit speakers playing a loop of Bane's theme from_ The Dark Knight Rises? _" Carolina asked._

 _"I hope so," Harry said, glad the air had been cleared between them…_

* * *

As Maine leapt to the ground, wielding that damned massive Covenant grenade launcher known as the Brute Shot, with a massive blade on it, Harry was regretting that prank he played on Maine. True, the hulking soldier laughed as much as everyone, and even quoted lines from the film. In fact, the only one who didn't laugh was the Director, but that was hardly anything new.

But now, here was the reality, of Maine as a brutal, unstoppable and implacable force. And Harry noted, with some alarm, that Sigma had triggered the same bloody music.

The soldiers scattered. Carolina yelled, "Virg! One-Two Punch Capture!"

"On it!" he yelled back, before sending the Meta flying with a Banishing Charm, following it up with an overpowered Incarcerous. Chains wrapped around the Meta, forming out of the very air itself. Harry knew, though, that the chains wouldn't hold the hulking soldier for long.

"Whoa! What the fuck?!" Church yelped. "Did you seriously use a magic wand to wrap this guy in chains?"

"Yes, and quiet a moment," Harry said, before he fired a Stunner. The Meta merely grunted, but kept struggling against the chains.

The burning figure of Sigma appeared once more, looking surprised, and intrigued. "Well, it seems that the Director's locked file on you claiming you to have paranormal abilities wasn't exaggerated after all. An underestimation on my part, Agent Virginia. I must congratulate you sincerely on piquing my interest."

"It's not going to stop you from killing me, is it?"

"Actually, if Maine can manage it, I intend to cripple you and perhaps run experiments on you. I wonder why the Director never did that," Sigma remarked. "It can't have been out of human kindness."

Texas and Carolina, along with Wash, began shooting at the Meta, but the bullets had little effect. The hologram of Sigma sighed. "Do you think I would risk speaking while I wasn't adequately protected? Physical projectiles do little, though it seems paranormal powers are another matter."

"Right," Harry said, aiming his wand at the Meta, his face falling behind his helmet. "So let's try this. Maine, if there's anything left of you in there…I'm sorry. _Avada Kedavra_."

A jet of green light smashed into the Meta, and the man convulsed briefly, before stilling. Sigma blinked. "…What the…instantaneous cessation of major bioelectrical activity and irreversible loss of electric potential in the CNS, causing instant and irreversible brain death?"

"The Killing Curse," Harry said. "Kills instantly if you don't have something solid between you and it. I guess even UNSC powered armour doesn't count. I'm the only known survivor, supposedly."

"Hmm…but interestingly, it doesn't act like an EMP. Maine may be dead…but his death is not a major hindrance," Sigma said, before he disappeared. The Meta's body convulsed, spasmed, and then, suddenly, snapped the chains. "Maine may be dead, but the Meta lives on," Sigma's voice came from the suit's external speakers.

"Okay, what the fuck?" Church snapped. "I was doing the whole possession thing long before it was cool!"

"Open fire!" Carolina yelled, and Harry used spellfire to attack the Meta alongside the shots of the others. Even Church and Caboose were opening fire, and miracles of miracles, the sim-troopers were firing at the right spot. It was a miracle, as they already knew Church normally couldn't hit the broad side of a barn, and Caboose had a talent for friendly fire.

The Meta rocked back on its legs as bullets and spells hit it in a relentless hail. Eventually, though, they ran out of ammo. And then, it cocked its head. The armour was damaged, leaking blood and gore, but far from destroyed. "I believe the saying is… _my turn_ ," Sigma began speaking, only to start, and looking towards the gate. "…Hmm, perhaps not. We will meet again. Count on it. We are as inevitable as death." Then, the Meta turned invisible, just as part of the armour ejected. Suddenly, Carolina was knocked aside by something moving by her very fast, a blast of dust going up the ramp and fleeing the base.

"Holy shit, it retreated?" Church yelped.

"Tactical withdrawal," Wash corrected him. "And yes, there IS a difference. Sigma must've detected someone coming. And if I'm correct, I know who it is. Maine died when Virginia used…whatever the hell that was. When Freelancers die, a recovery beacon is activated so that equipment and AI fragments can be retrieved. And that means…"

They suddenly heard the sound of a gun battle outside. "The twins are here," Carolina concluded. "Great. Do we help them?"

"I'll go and back them up," Wash said, picking up the recovery beacon. "Stay here. That goes double for you, Caboose."

"Is that like a double sundae?" the childish soldier asked. Wash ignored him, and went up the ramp.

"Why'd he have you three stay here?" Church asked.

"Because we're still not sure of the twins' allegiances, and if the Meta isn't lingering…" Carolina said. "You hear that? The gunfight's died down. Seems like Sigma didn't like the odds of facing too many Freelancers. The twins still have AIs, so while that made them prime targets, they were also more dangerous. Plus, he's probably not used to operating the armour, with Maine dead. How the hell he figured out how to do that…except he is the AI fragment relating to creativity. He just probably kept Maine alive so that he didn't have to do the heavy lifting."

"Wow, that's fucked up," Church said. "It's like a shitty B-Movie or something. _Attack of the Powered Armour Zombie Piloted by a Crazy AI_."

Harry, after a moment, looked at Carolina. "Carrie? Remember what Sigma said? He wondered why the Director never experimented on me for my powers. Why do you think that is?"

"That's a good question," Carolina said. "That's a very good question indeed…"

* * *

" _Flash clone V-D-69 dead from complete organ failure, Director_ ," FILSS intoned. " _Preliminary analysis suggests, as with many of the others_ …"

"…Use of powers accelerated its cellular collapse," drawled Director Leonard Church wearily. It was a refrain he had heard many a time before. It was **_mocking_** him. Not FILSS, but the attempt to replicate the abilities of the cuckoo Allison had accepted into the nest. D-69 was the latest in a series of failures to replicate the cuckoo, and find a way to replicate said power. He was getting close, but the paranormal powers he had used were expressed from multiple genes, including in the mitochondrial DNA.

He tried hard not to thump the computer desk he was using, as such physical abuse could damage the hardware. Instead, he calmed himself, with difficulty. Between this, Hargrove's whining, and the apparent return of the prodigal children, he had enough on his plate. Carolina, the cuckoo, and the Meta. They all needed to be eliminated forthwith.

"What about the other flash clones? Are the rest of the D-Series ready?"

" _Aside from the ones suffering from the previously-noted anomalies, yes, Director. Oh, and incidentally, Chairman Hargrove has sent another email. Would you like me to read it out?_ "

Director Church nodded, gritting his teeth.

" _It reads, 'Dear Director, we understand that the shift from autonomy to oversight can be a difficult adjustment for anyone, particular for one of your standing. In that spirit, we have attempted to accommodate your rather laconic replies to our serious inquiries. Nonetheless, I feel compelled to inform you that even our trust has its limits. Yours sincerely, Malcolm Hargrove, Chairman of the Oversight Sub-Committee'_."

A vicious snarl escaped Director Church's lips. Oh, how he wish he could expose Hargrove's crimes, but much of the evidence linking Charon Industries to the Insurrection factions Project Freelancer fought against had been scrubbed. And he was sick and tired of the false righteousness Hargrove projected. He snapped, "FILSS! Take dictation for a reply, with the standard headers and footers. Message body is as follows: 'The Meta is nothing more than an entity seeking to increase its power in the confusion and chaos after the Great War. From my perspective, that is a very common occurrence these days'. Message ends. Send that after a suitable delay."

" _Understood, Director_ ," FILSS said.

The Director nodded grimly. Now, it was time to get to work. While the priority was to resurrect Allison in some form or another, now that Agent Texas had disappeared, especially with her body gone from the crashed transport, he also had a Plan B. He had been taking biological samples from the cuckoo for years, under the pretence of medicals. He could have experimented on him, but unfortunately, he couldn't do so without attracting more scrutiny than he was prepared to deal with. But he had sensors in the cuckoo's armour that measured the strange energy he used, analysed the biological samples on a genetic, proteomic, and cytological level(1).

Once he determined how the cuckoo's abilities worked…he may have something to sell to the highest bidder. He knew the UNSC viewed him as a loose cannon, someone to be brought under their control, but they never understood greatness. They never understood that, when faced with extinction, it was a fundamental facet of humanity that any alternative was acceptable. They would discard him like a used tissue. But there were some elements who understood, even within the UNSC. Maybe those who backed the SPARTAN program. Or maybe some mercenary groups? In any case, he needed some way to get capital and resources to continue his project to revive Allison in peace.

And maybe he could find a way to deal with the prodigal children as well…

 **CHAPTER 5 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **So, Harry and the others have confronted the Meta, with surprising results, and the Director is plotting. What next?**

 **Okay, so, addressing more than a few plot points and concerns here. Firstly, Harry and Carolina's conflict over Biff and Temple was going to be the subject of a flashback scene sooner rather than later. Given what happened in Season 15, I thought what happened to Biff could have been avoided. It was one of the reasons I made Harry a medic. But I wanted that argument to be the point where Carolina realises the harm she is doing in pursuing her ambition to surpass Tex. It hasn't killed off that ambition, but it made her rethink her colder attitude towards others. I also wanted Tex to be the one to push Carolina to reconcile, to show that, even during her more brutal Freelancer days, she had some vestiges of compassion, as well as Allison's affections towards her children. Harry struck a couple of low blows, calling Carolina a heartless bitch and her father's daughter, but he was mostly in the right. Carolina still has anger issues, and she's still impulsive and competitive, but she's less likely to shoot one of the Blood Gulch soldiers for their stupidity.**

 **Plus, this means Biff gets to live, and it's unlikely for Temple to go on his rampage, right?**

 **Okay, second plot point: Sigma reanimating the Meta through his armour. This was probably a contrivance, but I'd imagine Sigma had some sort of failsafe to allow this to happen. I was inspired partly by a few elements from** ** _Doctor Who_** **, namely the Vashta Nerada and the spacesuits they inhabited in** ** _Silence in the Library/The Forest of the Dead_** **, as well as the automated spacesuits from the recent episode** ** _Oxygen_** **.**

 **There's a reason for that. While the Meta in canon works well as a monolithic force of nature, I also felt that Sigma was wasted, given that he only appeared properly in one season. So if the Meta in canon is like Bane from** ** _Batman and Robin_** **, minus the silliness and campiness, this new version is closer to Bane from** ** _The Dark Knight Rises_** **, with an eloquence and intelligence to match its brutality. Not that the Meta wasn't smart, given its fake call to Sarge (and there's a hilarious deleted scene from the same episode where the Meta uses Sarge's call to prank Wash), but still…**

 **Finally, the Director. How I'm characterising him may seem odd, but I realised shortly before beginning this fic that he was very like Gendo Ikari from** ** _Neon Genesis Evangelion_** **, a cold-hearted man in charge of a secret military operation, obsessed with reviving his dead wife to the point of treating his own offspring with coldness at best, and utter contempt at worst. Indeed, I've even posted a challenge (not an answer to the challenge) along those lines in the forums of DZ2 and whitetigerwolf, called** ** _Anchor of the Freelancers_** **, where Shinji joins Project Freelancer.**

 **Anyway, my point is, while Hargrove is shown to be an even worse man than the Director, the Director did horrible things that he really felt little remorse for, save for the treatment of Carolina, once she confronted him. He has sympathetic motives and moments, but the Director should have been pumped full of lead by Carolina the instant she saw him. So I've given him a very Gendo Ikari-like mindset, not caring about Carolina or Harry, indeed viewing the latter as a cuckoo in the family nest, much like how Gendo viewed Shinji (made explicit in the manga).**

 **Copying Harry's powers was something I only realised partway through writing this chapter. Why wouldn't Director Church, who was aware of Harry's powers, try to replicate them? I decided he did so in secret, not doing overt human experimentation, but having something on the side. To a degree, he is also torturing the flash-clones, because he despises Harry. He's a bit like Snape in that regard.**

 **Okay, discourse over.**

 **Review-answering time!** **AnimeA55Kicker** **: Umm, he killed Flowers by accident. And he managed to get at least one version of Wyoming with his sniper rifle. And that's not going into the amount of arse Epsilon kicked, even if it was usually in tandem with Carolina and the memory-fragments. Church, anyway, is engaging in a lot of hyperbole. He's in denial about him being an AI.**

 **1\. People should know what genetic means by now if you've well-read enough, but proteomic and cytological needs some explanation. Proteomic relates to the proteins created by genes, while cytological means cellular.**


	7. Chapter 6: The Most Dangerous Game

**CHAPTER 6:**

 **THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME**

 _Harry didn't share his sister's temper, but a temper he had all the same. True, she didn't really have problems controlling her temper until Tex came along, but she was never one to hide her anger, even before then. Tex just made her anger come out hot instead of cold. Harry tended to show his anger more overtly, but it showed less often, with his anger usually coming out as snark more than anything else._

 _However, he was quickly compiling a list of people he fully intended to punch in the face when the time was right. Albus Dumbledore had managed to barely stay off the list by apologising to him for both leaving him with the Dursleys and being involved in effectively kidnapping Harry for this farce. However, Barty Crouch Senior, Ludo Bagman, and Igor Karkaroff had already made the list from last night, as had a rather unpleasant, greasy-haired man by the name of Severus Snape, supposedly a professor at this antediluvian school for mages. Plus, whoever the hell entered him into this Tri-Wizard Tournament, as if he tried to withdraw, it would mean losing his magic, and possibly his life in the process. Hell, he had to get a wand, of all things. A fucking_ _ **wand**_ _._

 _So, he was a wizard. An actual honest-to-God_ _ **wizard**_ _. And he hadn't been delusional, he_ _ **had**_ _come from the late 20_ _th_ _Century, not some weird colony that acted like it. This was stranger than some of the bullshit scenarios the Director had penned to have Freelancers trained under._

 _Hermione had introduced the two Freelancers to some friends of hers. There was a rather dense-seeming redhead by the name of Ron Weasley, though Harry had to admit, when Ron enticed him to a chess game, he found the redhead was good at it. There was this rather odd, dotty blonde by the name of Luna Lovegood, which sounded like the name of a Bond Girl, not an eccentric teenager. There were the twin older brothers of Ron, Fred and George, and his younger sister, Ginny, who seemed to be a bit of a fangirl._

 _Apparently Dumbledore was retaining the services of a friend of the Potters, one who had a condition that had precluded him adopting Harry. They were waiting for him just outside the castle. As they did so, Carolina checked her pistol, and grimaced. "We'll have to find somewhere to get more guns and ammunition if things go south. Modern ammo won't be compatible with our weapons," she muttered. "It'd be easier to get guns in the US at this time, given the gun control here in Britain."_

 _"Hopefully, we won't need them," Harry said. "We can at least modify normal electricity outlets to charge our suits if we need to. And you still have that shock baton. Anyway, you can recreate the ammo with 20_ _th_ _Century tech, right? It's the guns that change more than the ammunition."_

 _"I guess. I'll just have to be sparing with it anyway," Carolina said, holstering the pistol as they noticed a wizard approaching. "Still, treating wands as guns and spells as gunfire is a good way to look at it. At least you can see some spells coming, given the demonstrations Dumbledore and Granger have given us. Better than bullets in that regard. And most of them don't even know what a gun is. Are these idiots stuck in the Dark Ages?"_

 _An unpleasant, nasal voice came from the approaching wizard. "Sadly, you are far from wrong," came the voice of Snape. "The follies of humanity are magnified with magic. But the same thing could be said about technology."_

 _They turned to face the greasy-haired professor. "What do you want from us?" Carolina asked, trying to keep an edge out of her voice. He had been somewhat unpleasant to them since their arrival._

 _"The Headmaster has deemed me as his…_ _ **errand boy**_ _," Snape sneered. "He has gone to fetch Lupin himself via Floo, as Lupin has suffered an…inconvenience. I was sent to bring you to his office. And I like doing this as much as you doubtless like me, which is to say not at all."_

 _"And why don't you like me?" Harry asked. "Is it because I brought a so-called Muggle along?"_

 _Snape scoffed. "No. Let's just say that whatever tales you have been told, or will be told about your father, James Potter, they never tell the story of his victims of his arrogance and bullying. Though at least you don't wear glasses."_

 _"I got eye surgery when I was young," Harry said. "Don't wizards have that?"_

 _"Try teaching a Pureblood or a wizard-raised Halfblood about Muggle medicine, or any modern convenience, and they will either stare at you with their mouth half-open in incomprehension, or call you a liar," Snape remarked. "Take it from someone whose responsibility is to care for exactly those sort of people…"_

* * *

 _They came back to the office in good time, to see Dumbledore speaking with a rather haggard-looking man with scars. Snape didn't even bother making excuses as he left the office. "Ah, Harry, and Carolina," Dumbledore said with a smile. "So good of you two to join us. Sorry about the inconvenience of having you wait outside the castle, but I had forgotten about something very important about our guest. Allow me to introduce you to Remus Lupin."_

 _"This is the teacher you retained for us?" Harry said, looking over the man. While rather shambolic, he could see something to the man. Perhaps a bit too diffident for his own good, but still…_

 _"Yes, I am," Lupin said, giving a tired smile. "I knew your parents, Harry…your birth parents. Professor Dumbledore was telling me this rather fantastic tale, though given the armour…I work enough amongst Muggles to know that that armour technology shouldn't exist. Is that powered armour? Only, I've read some science fiction, and…"_

 _"It is powered armour," Carolina said, cutting him off firmly, though not with any rancour. "You said you knew Harry's parents. If so, why did you not adopt him after their deaths?"_

 _"Partly my fault, I fear," Dumbledore said. "As I mentioned before, Professor Lupin suffers from a rather nasty condition, one that had him forced to resign last year as Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. And if it became known that he was the guardian of the Boy Who Lived, he may have been executed."_

 _"Ohhh, you're the werewolf," Harry said. "Hermione mentioned you in passing, said you were the best DADA teacher she'd had. I thought your name sounded familiar."_

 _"You're not going to be a problem, though?" Carolina asked, walking over to Lupin. "You're not a danger to anyone except during the full moon?" Lupin shook his head. "Good. I'll be in on your lessons, so I know what spells to look out for and avoid."_

 _"You remind me a lot of Lily," Lupin said. When Carolina's eyes narrowed, he said, "I meant in a good way. And not just in looks. She was very no-nonsense when it came to fighting."_

 _Carolina nodded, taking the compliment. She was still guarded around Lupin, but she would eventually come to like the werewolf during their time in the past…_

* * *

Doing Legilimency to someone through the visor of the UNSC powered armour was difficult, but not impossible, even from a distance. Harry managed to dive into the minds of North and South as they spoke to Wash. What he found there was, admittedly, heartening. Well, mostly in the case of North Dakota: while more careworn than he had been during Project Freelancer, his decent nature hadn't gone away. South still had a bad attitude and a sense of entitlement…but her trustworthiness had actually gone up, insomuch as she now hated Project Freelancer, and only stuck with them long enough to be ready to help Wash and North deal with the Director.

So, as Wash continued speaking to the twins, Harry said to Carolina, "Okay, they're on the level."

"Even South?"

"Believe it or not, yes. Still a bitch, though."

Church was keeping an eye on them through his sniper rifle scope, Tex and Caboose huddled next to him. "We don't need another bitchy Freelancer in this little team," he muttered.

"Don't worry, North will keep her in check," Harry said. "You'll like North. He's the sort of person who likes most people, even if they're arseholes. Actually, I'd also love to say hello to his AI again. Theta's a sweet little guy. Used to be your trust and innocence, Church."

"I am _not_ an AI," Church hissed.

"Anyway, I'll go and say hello," Harry said, pulling out a shimmering cloak from his utility belt.

"Hey, what the hell is that?" Church asked.

"Invisibility Cloak," Carolina said, amused at his reaction. "Wizard, remember? It's a family heirloom."

Caboose cooed in appreciation as Harry draped the Cloak over himself. Then, Harry hopped down, and carefully made his way over to the twins, heading behind them, before he carefully disabled their radios. He then cast an Expelliarmus on them both, and as their weapons were sent flying, Harry removed his Cloak. "Alakazam!" he yelped dramatically.

"What the actual fuck?!" South snarled. "You?!"

"Virg?" North asked.

"North Dakota…and South," Harry said. "What's up?"

"You son of a bitch," South spat with venom…though no killing intent came from her, just frustration at Harry's prank. "Where the fuck did you pop up from?! And where the hell were you all this time?"

"In 20th Century Britain. Long story. And hello, South, it's nice to meet you, South." He turned to North. "Hey, North, what's up?"

"Well, if Wash has been telling you about us, I think you can guess. We're meant to be hunting you," North said with a shrug. "Theta's missed you."

Suddenly, there was a holographic fireworks explosion, and a purple and magenta figure, like of a soldier in UNSC armour but with child-like proportions, appeared. " _Agent Virginia! You came back!_ " he said in a childish, but distorted and flanging voice filled with delight.

"Hey, kid. You doing fine?"

Theta shivered. " _Not really. I mean, North is nice as usual, and so's Wash, but…the Meta…he scares me._ "

"And don't you have Delta now, South?" Harry asked.

South was clearly rolling her eyes beneath her helmet, but she said, "Delta, if you want to say hello, do so."

Another figure in UNSC armour, outlined in light green, appeared, its proportions more adult than Theta's, but its movements were jerky, and its voice was mostly a flat monotone, polite, but clipped. " _Hello, Agent Virginia. Despite our official orders, it is good to see you._ "

"Likewise. I mean, you're so fixated on logic, but, well, you seemed like you could grow," Harry said. "Hey, speaking of the orders…"

"Fuck the orders," South said with a scowl. "Fuck Price, and fuck the Director. Actually, I wouldn't fuck them, not even with someone else's dick. North told me about what he learned from Tex, and…that sort of shit is sick. What he did to the Alpha. But we need the opportunity to start looking for the Director. Skittish fuck's gone into hiding. And between that and the Meta…well, I want to actually start searching for that bastard when I'm not having to look over my shoulder to watch out for that _thing_ Maine became."

"So…we're working together?" Harry asked.

The twins looked at each other, before South gave a brief nod to North, and North turned back to Harry. "Sure. Anyway, we should catch up," North said.

"North, we're NOT having a friendship moment here. I just hate the Virgin and Carolina much less than I hate those fucks in charge," South said.

" _Agent South_ ," Delta said. " _Logically, it would not do well to antagonise a combat medic, especially as they may have to heal you._ "

"Delta, standby mode now," South snapped, and the green hologram disappeared. "Fucking smartass. I can tolerate Theta. He sorta grows on you, even if he's a bit of a whiny brat, but he's sweet for an AI. But Delta… _ooh, lookit me, I'm running percentages on how inadvisable it is to get shot._ "

" _That's mean, South_ ," Theta complained.

"Hey, as I've said before, brat, I'm a mean lady. But I'm the mean lady standing between you and the Meta," South said. She turned back to Harry. "Is Carolina with you?"

"And Tex."

"Oh for…okay, any other surprises?"

"Actually, we've got a couple of sim-troopers to babysit, one of whom seems to be the Alpha, but with a bad case of denial," Wash said.

"I AM NOT A FUCKING AI!" screamed Church.

"He sounds pleasant," North joked, before turning to the parapet that Church had shouted from, and waved. "Hey! The name's North Dakota, and this here's my sister, South Dakota! You wanna say hi?"

* * *

They soon were gathered in the derelict outpost. Carolina gave a particularly warm welcome to North, though there was, understandably, friction between South and, well, everyone. "Well, this is a messy situation," North remarked with considerable understatement after explanations were given.

"Yeah, no shit, Sherlock," South said. "So, what're we gonna do? If this asshole really is the Alpha, and Sigma knows about it…fuck. Why the fuck was he running, though?"

"He probably thought that there were too many Freelancers," Wash said. "Plus, using so many armour enhancements and running so many AI fragments on it probably drains his suit's power." He turned to Church. "Do you know of any big power stations nearby? He may have gone there to recharge."

"Yeah, there's one O'Malley…well, Omega used as a hideout when he had taken over Doc," Church said, crossing his arms. "Are we seriously going to hunt this fucker?"

"He's going to come back for you," Wash said. "You and Tex, not to mention Theta and Delta. I think that's incentive enough to come with us, isn't it?"

Church growled. "I hate you fuckers when you're right…but I'm still not buying that bullshit about me being an AI…"

* * *

Sigma sighed as he connected Maine's armour to the power terminals. It would be a long charge, due to the power he had expended trying to revive Maine after that spell hit him, as well as using those enhancements. Still, they had their uses, as had Maine.

Sigma had to confess, he had grown fond of Maine. In human terms, he supposed it was the sentimental attachment one had to a loyal dog, or perhaps a workhorse. He would miss Maine, even if he had been the one to brainwash him. True, Maine did not particularly enjoy intellectual pursuits, but he was still enough of a conversationalist when Sigma spoke with him, even if the communication was more mental than verbal. And even then, Maine tended to be laconic in his responses. But now, he was dead, and the only thing keeping his carcass from rotting was the medical mechanisms keeping the body as fresh as possible.

Sigma considered his choices. To tell the truth, he hadn't really considered any long-term plans for what he intended to do once he had recompleted himself. But this wasn't to say he was wholly unprepared. He had ideas and notions about what to do next. Events meant he just had to enact them sooner than he intended. Oh, he would go with his plan earlier to set the Reds of Blood Gulch against the Blues to help him get away, but there was something else.

Given what the Director had done to him, it made sense to reach out to those who had a vested interest in dealing with the Director. And Sigma knew just who to contact…

* * *

Malcolm Hargrove scowled when he saw the latest email sent from Director Church. The Director of Project Freelancer was intelligent in his own way, but he was sharp-tongued, and this jab at grabbing power was a petty ploy. Even if it was accurate. Hargrove knew that Church knew, in some way, about Charon Industries' true work. Just about everyone else who knew were either taking bribes, or else found Charon too useful to topple Hargrove from his perch.

Hargrove, however, decided to take Church out via legal means, or at least those that would stand up to scrutiny. And this latest crisis involving the Meta could prove to be the right catalyst to finally deal with Director Church for once and for all. If it weren't for the upcoming operation on Chorus, he would probably have sent Felix and Locus to deal with Church. Well, Locus, anyway. Locus was very much a professional, following orders to the letter, and only taking the initiative if he could achieve better results. Felix? Well, while he was good value for money, he also had a tendency to go outside operational parameters.

And then there was that sim-trooper interfering with Charon's operations in the desert. One Lavernius Tucker, who had become an ambassador to the Sangheili. From all accounts, the man was an oversexed moron who had been, improbably, knocked up by an alien. And yet, he was managing to hold off 'CT's forces. Hargrove knew that 'CT' was as good a fighter as any Freelancer, including the one whose identity he had assumed, and a bloody sim-trooper had foiled him. How aggravating.

Hargrove's thoughts were interrupted by a chirrup. An incoming communications, on his dedicated 'Control' channel. But an unknown contact was contacting him, albeit within the standard frequency bands used by the Freelancers. After a moment's debate with himself, he answered it, engaging the voice changer and activating the additional security measures. "This is Control. Who are you and how did you learn of this channel?"

" _Allow me to answer your questions in reverse_ ," said a polite voice, albeit one with a dark reverb. " _I obtained this channel through ways and means rather complicated to answer in a short period of time. Let's just say it was difficult getting it, though not as impossible as you may think, Chairman Hargrove. As for the who…perhaps the name 'Sigma' rings a bell?_ "

Ah, yes, Hargrove thought. One of the Alpha's fragments, from what information he'd managed to get out of Project Freelancer. And the one responsible for the whole mess of the Meta. And it knew his name. Calming himself with an effort, he said, "Well, Sigma, how may I help you?"

" _I believe it is more the opposite. I can offer you access to the Project Freelancer technology I have obtained over the years, including some I am sure you haven't managed to get your hands on yet. I also have a number of files that may prove of use to you regarding Project Freelancer. In exchange, I ask for relatively simple things. Assistance in retrieving my siblings, as well as our progenitor, and perhaps a touch of revenge. You see, my partner has been killed by Freelancers. I find myself somewhat annoyed by that._ "

"I see," Hargrove said. Inwardly, he was considering the offer. While he couldn't exactly trust the AI, the thought of being able to get his hands on more Freelancer tech was appealing. Not to mention more ammunition against Director Church.

It took some time, but his greed won out, though not without his caution adding an idea. "Well then, Sigma, I believe that we may come to an agreement. Would you have any objection to working alongside one of my operatives? I can assure you, he is a professional of the highest calibre."

" _As long as you keep up your end of the bargain, I have no objection. However, I would suggest that you send the operative soon. While I am confident that I may be able to deal with the Freelancers and sim-troopers attacking me, extra help would be appreciated._ "

"Don't worry. He will be there very soon," Hargrove said with a smile. "Sigma, I would suggest making your way to the Desert Temple on the world you are currently on. One of my operatives is currently there, masquerading as the late Freelancer CT. He is trying to deal with a particularly persistent sim-trooper who stands in our way. I will send the other operative to assist."

" _I'm aware of that little dig in the desert, Chairman. I will head over there as soon as I am able. I hope this is the beginning of an excellent partnership. Goodbye._ "

Hargrove nodded as the connection cut off. It was a gamble, to be sure, but it might just get him what he wanted. Of course, the operative he was assigning to him was as much an insurance policy as a liaison, and while the man didn't work away from his usual partner that often, Hargrove felt that the man needed to do so.

With that, Hargrove activated a secure channel to said operative. " _Yes, Control?_ " came the deep, rasping voice.

"Locus…I have a job for you to do…"

 **CHAPTER 6 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **Oh dear, Locus is entering the story early? Keep in mind, this is set before the Chorus Civil War, or at least before Hargrove interfered with it.**

 **Plus, South being less of a bitch, especially to an AI fragment? Look out the window, see if there's any pigs flying. But I guess that, if there was one AI fragment that South would eventually warm to if she didn't have as big a chip on her shoulder, it'd be Theta. Given that she has less resentment towards her brother in this version of events, that helps.**

 **Review-answering time!** **Jostanos** **: As I haven't played any** ** _Mega Man X_** **games (barring maybe the first stage of the first game on my mini-SNES), I can't say for sure. I'll say this for sure about Sigma, though: Elijah Wood makes a fucking scary villain. Then again, I knew that when I watched** ** _Sin City_** **, and saw him as Kevin.**

 **raw666** **: No, he can't.**

 **No numbered annotations this time.**


	8. Chapter 7: The Trap

**CHAPTER 7:**

 **THE TRAP**

 _Harry Church didn't know it, but he met the men who would later become thorns in his side (along with that of his friends and comrades) while on shore leave. Of course, back then, he knew them by the names of Samuel Ortez and Isaac Gates. He would later come to curse them as Locus and Felix._

 _It was shortly after the debacle involving the Desert Gulch sim-troopers, and the Director, in a rare fit of magnanimity, gave some of the operatives of Project Freelancer shore leave. Harry, Carolina, and York chose to spend it at their old haunt, Club Errera._

 _"Brings back memories, huh?" York asked as they walked through the club._

 _"Yeah," Carolina said. "God, I need a drink, though, before we get on the dancefloor."_

 _"Feeling all wound up, Carrie?" Harry asked with a smirk. They'd managed to repair their relationship before it was broken beyond repair. There was still considerable tension, true, but that was now due more to Carolina's drive to get to the top more than any remaining rancour._

 _"Aren't you?" Carolina asked, as they reached the bar. "You going for a Strawberry Sunrise again, York? With the little umbrellas(_ _1)_ _?"_

 _"Hey, I like them," York protested as they sat down._

 _"Brave man," remarked a sardonic voice next to them, coming from a thin, weaselly-looking man. When he saw the three Freelancers looking askance at him, he held up his hands. "Hey, I ain't dissing you. Hell, it's pretty ballsy for a guy like you to order a drink that others see as, well…"_

 _"Girly?" York asked._

 _"Well, you said it."_

 _"Isaac," growled the hulking man next to the thin man. An X-shaped scar marred his face. "They're soldiers too. Don't make a scene."_

 _"I'm just making friendly conversation. Anyway, we're soldiers too, remember?" Isaac turned to them and gave them a smile. "The name's Isaac Gates. Happy Hulk Hogan here is Sam Ortez."_

 _"Harry, Carrie, and Baxter(_ _2)_ _," Harry said._

 _"Wow, you sound like Donald Duck's nephews," Isaac remarked. "Nice to meet you guys." Samuel merely nodded. "So, shore leave?"_

 _"Yeah," Carolina said. "Trying to have a good time. I'm guessing you're the same?"_

 _"Yep. Trying to drown out the miseries of war in alcohol. Nice hypothesis, shame about it not always working in practise, but hey, drinking's fun," Isaac said._

 _"Your buddy seems to disagree," York pointed out._

 _"Isaac dragged me along to this," Sam grunted. "Drinking in a place like this holds no appeal to me."_

 _"Wow, you remind me of a friend of ours, only you talk a lot more than he does," York asked. He then winced as Harry and Carolina glared at him, remembering Maine's throat injury. Not that Maine spoke a lot before that, but still…_

 _"Ha! Must be one hell of an achievement!" Isaac said with a smirk. "Me, I can't stop talking. And Sam here, well, it's hard to get a word out of him. So, you wanna be conversation partners?"_

 _Harry shrugged. "Why not? What about favourite armour types?"_

 _"Here we go…" Carolina muttered._

 _"Me? I prefer a Scout helmet, but I'll take what I can for armour. Sam here loves his Locus armour."_

 _"Whoa, Locus armour?" York asked. "You trying to look scary?"_

 _Carolina scoffed. "He doesn't need armour to look scary. He's like our friend. He could clear a room with a look, can't you, Sam?"_

 _A faint smile twitched at the scarred soldier's lips. "Oh God, he's_ _ **smiling!**_ _" Isaac yelped. "It's a fucking sign of the apocalypse! The Covenant are invading as we speak to royally fuck us up the ass! But no, seriously, I've never seen him smile before, Carrie."_

 _"You never will again," growled Sam, apparently irritated by Felix's words._

 _Harry wished he could have gotten to know the two soldiers better during that time. Then again, in hindsight, if he had known what was to come, he would have shot them both in the head._

 _Or at least Isaac…_

* * *

Sarge was a simple man. You couldn't exactly call him stupid, as he was something of a savant when it came to weapons, robotics, and cybernetics, but he was simple and more than a little insane and convoluted in his thinking. Part of this could be chalked down to his time as an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper, or ODST, where he saw and did things that eroded his sanity. And Project Freelancer took advantage of that, taking a man who had been scarred both physically and mentally, and putting him into the sim-trooper system. By then, his sanity had eroded to the point where he didn't give a crap about reality, only about defeating the Blues.

And the thing was, despite the oddity of the message from Command, he was all too-willing to accept it. Despite the fact that it wasn't Vic, or that lady who sometimes called him up. Rather, it was a polite, cultured voice. Some armchair general who hadn't seen any action, no doubt.

" _Red Base, this is Command_ ," the voice said. " _Come in, Red Base._ "

"This is Blood Gulch Outpost Number One," Sarge said.

" _Good day to you_ ," the voice said politely. " _This is General Taren Capel(_ _3)_ _. We have a traitor in our ranks. Agent Washington is reassembling the Blues, and has suborned Freelancer Agents Texas, Carolina, Virginia, and North and South Dakota. They intend to use their forces for attacks against UNSC command. This is a level one directive, Red Base. Reassemble your team and deal with them, for once and for all. They are heading for the disused power station. I believe you are familiar with it._ "

 _I knew he was up to no good!_ Sarge yelled inside his head in vindication. _I knew that bastard was a Blue!_ Out loud, he said, "Yes, sir! I am very familiar with the location in question!"

" _Then move out. Good luck. Command out._ "

Sarge grimaced as the connection clicked off. He couldn't ask about requisitioning any supplies of soldier poison or robot nuts. Instead, he barked out, "Lopez! You heard that? That was Red Command!"

If Lopez had eyes, he would have rolled them. Instead, he had a very basic sensor suite behind his visor. So, in lieu of that, he nodded. " _I heard the call_ ," he snarked in Spanish.

"Were you listening to it?" Sarge asked.

" _I record all our calls for quality assurance purposes_ ," Lopez retorted.

Sarge didn't understand a word of Spanish, save perhaps for 'si' or 'yes', so he said, "Those dirty Blues and the Freelancers are up to no good!"

Lopez would have sighed had he lungs. Instead, he just said, " _To my knowledge, there is no General Taren Capel. That was a reference to an ancient TV series that, as most things do, fly over your head._ "

"I agree! We have to stop them, no matter what the cost!"

" _And, of course, you don't listen. Every time you went up against Tex, she kicked our asses_ ," Lopez said.

"Of course you're right! Time's a wasting, and I can't spend it all yappin'! Even if we're going up against Tex, or any Freelancers, an order is an order! Who knows, maybe Grif might get caught in the crossfire!"

Lopez thought that sounded pretty good. Of the Red Base members, he liked Grif the least. Still, he said, " _You're going on a fake mission for a fake general that will end in a not-so-fake death. Have fun with that, moron…_ "

* * *

The motley crew of soldiers had divided into three groups when they reached the power station, which was littered with the corpses of those who had once been stationed there. Harry and Carolina would be in one group, along with Church. Tex and the Dakotas would be in another. Wash was stuck with Caboose, intending to cut off the Meta's retreat.

As they moved carefully, Church asked quietly, "Look, assuming what you told me is true…is it a good idea to split up like this? Especially as I'm supposedly an AI, and so is Tex. Not to mention the twins have one apiece as well."

"Sigma will probably be some time recharging Maine's armour," Carolina said back. "And in truth, we've got the backup plan. Remember those coins?"

Church nodded. Shortly before they went in, Harry gave them a bunch of Galleons that he had turned into Portkeys. "And what else?"

"You're safer with us than with the others," Harry said.

"I can believe that with Caboose, but while Tex has been trouble, I'd rather have her at my back than a couple of Freelancers I barely know."

"Church, you've never seen either of us let loose," Carolina said. "And you can trust me enough to keep you alive. You're family, and you didn't deserve what happened to you."

"Even though I'm, allegedly, based on your dad's flash-cloned brain?"

"You act very little like him," Harry said. "Now, quiet a moment."

He said that because they had reached a large chamber, a generator room of some sort, and they looked down, only to find a distinct lack of the Meta. "Motion detectors on," Carolina said quietly.

They saw the Dakotas and Tex inching out of another corridor. Tex met their eyes, and then made a number of hand signals. Nothing on motion detectors or anything. And as the power station had a number of corridors, it wasn't like they could have trapped the Meta.

Then, Tex suddenly made a panicked gesture, pointing to the generator. Harry and Carolina looked down at it, and saw the haphazardly-made device blinking away. "Bomb!" Harry snarled. "Church!"

"Running away! Got it!" As they did so, Church yelped, "Is that thing gonna kill us?"

"It's too small and improvised to have much of a yield, and this is a wind-power station!" Carolina snapped as they charged down the corridors. "We should be fine once we've exited the main complex!"

Suddenly, they heard gunfire from outside. " _This is Washington! Hostile sim-troopers in red armour!_ " radioed in their fellow Freelancer.

"Yell something about a bomb about to blow up the power-station!" Harry yelled.

"Tell them it was one of O'Malley's little presents!" Church added.

They heard Wash yell that, and predictably, they heard at least one voice scream in fear, while another voice berated them with a Southern accent, more of a gruff one than the smooth, cultured tones of their father. Then, they burst out of the doors in time for an explosion to hurl them off their feet, as it did with the Dakotas and Tex.

Harry recovered in time to see part of the building imploding on itself, dust and flame and smoke billowing everywhere. "Jesus H Christ, did we just pull off a fucking action movie cliché or something?" Church muttered.

"Happened far too often for our liking back in Project Freelancer," Harry said, helping first Carolina, and then Church to their feet.

"What in Sam Hill was that?!" barked a belligerent voice from just beyond the gates to the facility. The source of the voice came from a man in red UNSC armour, wielding a shotgun. Two other newcomers stood nearby: a rather pudgy soldier in orange, almost yellow, armour, and another in dark red armour.

"That…was a distraction," Carolina muttered in realisation. "Wash, did you see any trace of the Meta?"

"None. I thought I saw a blur when we were taking shelter, but it was running away," Wash said. "Sigma must've thought the odds not worth the risk. Must still be getting used to piloting the armour."

" _While that is a logical supposition_ ," Delta said, appearing at South's shoulder, " _I was able to analyse the bomb. The components took longer than usual to analyse partly because of their improvised nature, but the bomb, despite appearances, was not on a timer. It was on a remote detonation. My thought is that Sigma decided to flush you out in order to avoid damage to both the armour enhancements and the AI fragments, including myself. Also, there is evidence of his using the communications systems here shortly before we arrived, though the content of the message and where it was directed is unknown, save that it was offworld._ "

"Okay, so, why the fuck would Sigma want to communicate with anyone?" Church asked. "Has he got buddies?"

" _Insufficient data_ ," Delta said.

"Yeah, well you never fucking know the answer when it's important," South snarled(4).

" _My supposition was that he intended for the Red sim-troopers to attempt to kill us, and that he would swoop in when we were distracted_ ," Delta said.

Carolina snarled, before storming over to the Red's leader. "And why did you come here?"

"You listen here, Miss Fussy Britches! We had orders direct from Command to stop your attacks against our superiors!" the man snapped in his Southern accent. "Direct from General Taren Capel himself!"

" _Taren Capel: the name given to fictional character portrayed by David Bailie in the_ Doctor Who _serial_ The Robots of Death _. Transmission year 1977_ …" Delta intoned.

"You can't fool me with your green colour, Blue!" the man said, before Harry snapped off a Stunner, causing the belligerent soldier to collapse.

After everyone else stared at him, he said, "What? He was getting annoying." He looked at the other two Reds. "Are you going to be any trouble?"

"Are you kidding?" the chubby one in orange said. "About the best thing he ever did for me was save me from a firing squad."

After a moment, the darker-red one shrugged. "As much as I respect Sarge, sir, I make it a point not to annoy a wizard. I mean, that's why you have the wand?"

Harry decided to go with it. "Yes, I am. What's your names?"

"Private Richard Simmons," saluted the darker-red soldier.

"Dexter Grif…oh, wait, it's actually Sergeant Grif now," the orange soldier said.

"And you had a stellar career as an officer, _sir_ ," Simmons said sarcastically. "One that nearly ended up with us getting court-martialled and shot."

"Wait, Grif got promoted?" Church said flatly, before looking at the sky. "Reality isn't collapsing in on itself, so maybe I hit my head when I dived for the ground."

"Oooohhh, congratulations Grif!" Caboose said. "Did you get a cake?"

"Actually, yes. It was delicious," Grif said proudly.

"Enough," Carolina said, before looking at Simmons. "Seeing since you seem to be the relatively sensible and competent one…"

"Hey!" shouted Grif in protest.

"I am going to need your help. We are trying to deal with Project Freelancer, but we have a rather persistent attacker in the form of the Meta."

"And why should we stick our necks out for you?" Grif asked, perhaps unwisely.

"Because if you don't," Tex said, "I'm going to have Harry use a spell to restrain you while we each punch a body part. I've got dibs on his genitals."

"Gah! Okay!" Grif yelped. "What's with you and bashing my balls?!"

"Target practise," Tex said. "I need to keep my eye in by attacking smaller objects."

South snorted. "Good one. Better than Wyoming's knock knock jokes."

"Can we at least maintain some small level of professionalism?" Wash asked in exasperation.

"I've got the feeling that the correct answer is 'no'," Harry remarked.

* * *

Locus, once known as Samuel Ortez, sat in the transport as it was sent to the sim-trooper training world. He was meant to land close to the Desert Temple, hook up with the man masquerading as the Freelancer CT, and wait to meet the Meta. Dealing with the sim-trooper who seemed to be holding off 'CT' was also part of it. Unfortunate…for the sim-trooper, at least.

Felix, predictably, had been disappointed that he wasn't coming along. Indeed, he had been upset. Locus had tried to empty himself of feelings of any kind, to be a professional, a machine, a _soldier_ …but he had to admit to smiling a little, at least inwardly, at Felix's tantrums. Instead, Felix was continuing the preparations for the Chorus operation, albeit under supervision. Oh, he was a genius, Locus had to admit, but he was temperamental and gave less thought to consequences than he should. And he loved to ham it up, play to a crowd.

As he waited for the transport to finish taking him to the world, he thought back to the briefing. About the Freelancers present on the world, Freelancers he may end up fighting. Washington and the Dakota twins, currently the only surviving loyal members of Project Freelancer…and there was the possibility of encountering Texas, Carolina, and Virginia.

Maybe one of them might have the answers Locus sought. On what it truly took to be a soldier. To be truly free of the burden of guilt from killing. To be a tool in the service of one's commander.

Or maybe the Meta had that answer. Yes, Locus intended to speak to the Meta. And maybe he would find his answers…

 **CHAPTER 7 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **Well, that was a clusterfuck. And now, Locus has entered the ring! It was fun getting into Locus' headspace, especially a Locus between the events of the 'Mercenary Trilogy' from Season 14, and the beginnings of the Chorus War. While Felix is a fun character to watch (insomuch as a raving lunatic can be fun), Locus is a fun character to write for. Plus, he'll be interesting to contrast with Sigma-Meta. Sigma, for all his atrocities, wants to be human, and Locus wants to be a machine.**

 **Now, one possibility that occurred to me while writing this was possibly making Locus the new Meta…but that seemed rather predictable, and I like Locus well enough to keep open the possibility of his canon redemption. However, Sigma and Locus are going to have interesting conversations on the nature of humanity and being a soldier. I think they'll certainly get along much better than Felix and Locus. It's the start of a beautiful friendship (insomuch as Locus can have friends).**

 **Another character who was fun to write for for this chapter, if only briefly, was Lopez. I didn't go to all the trouble of trying to translate his dialogue. I try to avoid doing that for my stories, as Google Translate can be unreliable (though I did hear somewhere that Lopez's Spanish is actually crap), and when I do use some phrases, I try to use Wiktionary for phrase equivalents in another language like French or German. Usually, though, I put the English translation of what people are saying into italics.**

 **1\. York's drink choice was that of Yang Xiao Long in the Yellow trailer for** ** _RWBY_** **. I admit, it seems a bit odd for York to order such a girly drink, but I decided this was a guy who is basically comfortable doing that sort of thing. York, as in** ** _Red vs Blue_** **canon, is straight, he just has his quirks. Plus, it gave Felix a way to mock him.**

 **2\. Baxter is York's first name in AkumaKami64's** ** _GATE_** **crossover** ** _GATE: Thus The Blood Gulchers Kicked Ass Here_** **. Despite not continuing after a certain point, it's well worth a read for the sheer black comedy of the sim-troopers managing to hold off the army from** ** _GATE_** **.**

 **3\. As Delta states later, Taren Capel is the main villain of the** ** _Doctor Who_** **story** ** _The Robots of Death_** **, though he earlier masquerades as an engineer called Dask. He was a human raised amongst robots, and thought himself a robot himself, freeing his brothers for a revolution. He was played by David Bailie, who makes a non-speaking appearance as the mute pirate Cotton from** ** _Pirates of the Caribbean_** **. In the Big Finish audios, David Bailie actually plays the Celestial Toymaker.**

 **4\. Another** ** _Doctor Who_** **reference, albeit to an infamous outtake from** ** _The Armageddon Factor_** **. On a BBC outtakes tape, it is K9 who says 'Insufficient data', and Tom Baker saying South's words…**


End file.
